


In a Name

by misura



Category: Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-30
Updated: 2011-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-23 06:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“She's surly,” Kellanved said, pacing the room.</i> (Kellanved and Dancer, pre-Empire)</p>
            </blockquote>





	In a Name

“She's surly,” Kellanved said, pacing the room.

Dancer considered commenting on the similarity between Kellanved's expression and tone to the nature of his complaint regarding their latest ... employee, then thought the better of it. For all he knew, it might merely be an observation, after all - a recognizing of kindred spirits, perhaps, for all that Kellanved's moods changed as regularly as the number of rats in their cellar, and were about as easy to predict, for all that Kellanved's moods, at least, were fairly easy to gauge.

In the end, he settled for: “She's well-named, then,” which was true.

“This is a tavern, not a - what do they call a place with a lot of surly women?” Kellanved frowned.

“A brothel?” Dancer suggested, for all that he was reasonably sure at least part of their clientele was involved in the sort of trade one found in such places.

“I meant a temple,” Kellanved said. “People expect to get their drinks served with a smile. Their prayers, they have no expectations about whatsoever, especially not after they've spoken to the divine one's mortal servants. Discouragement, that's what you can get in temples.”

“Somewhat simply put, surely.”

“I was making a point, not holding a lecture.”

“That point being we should not have hired a surly woman to serve drinks to customers,” Dancer said.

“Exactly. What woman in her right mind gives her daughter a name like that, anyway?”

“One assumes it's an assumed name,” the man who had not always been known as Dancer said.

Kellanved conceded the point with a sigh. “Fine. What woman in her right mind _assumes_ a name like that, anyway?”

“One with a naturally cheerful and smiling disposition?” Names were tricky things, Dancer knew. Kellanved had kept his, which was ... daring, even if it was unlikely many people would have the resources to make use of it. A calculated risk, with the potential to gain ... well. Best not to get ahead of themselves. “Oh, and we didn't.”

Kellanved sat down. “We're paying her. She's serving drinks.”

“Yes.”

Kellanved considered. “It may very well look like a rather unsound business decision on your part. That of a man really not quite capable of running a tavern properly.”

“Yes. I suppose so.”

“Excellent. Genius idea, hiring her.”

“Yours, I believe.”

“Naturally.”


End file.
